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Still WAY too much milk after 6 months!!

DD is just days shy of being 6 months old, and my supply has not yet adjusted to her needs. I still have WAY too much milk, leaking so much that I normally wear 4 nursing pads on each breast daily (silicone, disposable/washable cotton, and wool), and milk still seems to find its way onto my shirts most days. I also have to wear the pads and a bra at night even though DD has only been nursing about 2 times per night for quite a while now, and the friction of the bra and milk on my skin has caused quite an itchy rash in the past.

I only nurse her at one side for each feeding because I have so much milk in each breast that she gets full before the breast is even completely empty!! So I guess we have sort of involuntarily been doing block feeding, which has not helped my supply to adjust any.
It's very annoying because often my breasts spray milk, and when they do she turns her head away and milk sprays onto the sheets of the bed, couch, etc. Wet spots on the sheets (and my shirts) everyday getting REALLY old. Also many times when it sprays she readjusts her latch so that her mouth does not cover enough of my areola, which causes my nipples to be quite sore at times.

I've considered switching to one-sided nursing only, as my left breast produces the most and is the breast that DD prefers. I'd rather not do this until she is out of daycare in May, as I have to pump both breasts daily in order to give her a fresh bottle. Also, I'm not sure how to go about nursing from only one side without running into more trouble!! Does anyone do this or know how to go about this?

I am just SOOO tired of waiting for supply to adjust...I'd really love to at least night nurse DD until she's 2 years old (or maybe older)...but if I can't regulate my supply soon, I do not think I will be able to make it past 12 months.

So block feeding has not worked and not nursing for very long stretches at night has not worked to regulate my supply either!! I do not know what else to try, and while I am thankful for such an abundance of milk in many ways, at this point it is more of a curse than a gift. Does anyone know of any other techniques I might try to regulate my supply?!

I'm a full-time single mama and a full-time law student!! Loving every minute!!

Re: Still WAY too much milk after 6 months!!

I feel for you. I am going thru the same stuff. I am afraid to go in public for more than a couple of hrs. And it's not only the leaking it's the engorgement that makes it miserable too. DH just doesn't understand. He's always: puhleeze! More about your milk or breasts and I'm going to go crazy. Gee thanks. Mine is self induced cuz I had no idea how to EP once my milk came in. This one forum just kept telling me to pump until dry through 12 wks and then I could drop pumps. Yeh whatever. I was making enough for twins + and they were worried about me losing my supply. Well I sure wish I'd lose some of it now. Which I know there are mommies out there who can't produce so I feel horrible for thinking stuff like that, but it's just the frustration talking. I would do it all over agin this way just LO could be BF. I spray all over too. I think OALD and OS go hand in hand most of the time. I always wonder if this would be the case if I wouldn't have pumped like I did. Or if it was meant to be. You hear so much about undersupply and not enough about OS. Even on here there is only a post once in a while about it. I'm going to try the cabbage route. Another nice lady on here has suggested I do that. Hang in there.

Re: Still WAY too much milk after 6 months!!

Maybe one nursing per side isn't long enough for block nursing for you and your babe. Could you try 2 nursings per side? I've been advised to nurse on one side for a certain amount of time, too. Say, 8 hours on one side and then switch to the other for the next 8 hours.

Re: Still WAY too much milk after 6 months!!

I was having some OS issues. I pump at work and when I first went back to work I would pump 3 times for 12 minutes a session. I had so much milk I ran out of room to store it in the freezer and I was always throwing out refridgerated milk at the end of the week when she didn't use enough during the day. Since about week 2 we have only nursed one side per feeding. DD only nursed for about 5-8 minutes and was satisfied-usually leaving me uncomfortably full still
When DD was about 5month I cut back my pumping sessions to about 9 minutes and was able to drop the last session before I left work. I try to nurse DD when I get home and if she's not interested, then I will pump just a bit to relieve pressure. After about 2 weeks my supply seemed to dip down a little and become more tollerable. I'm also not as full during the night now, which is a blessing since DD is sleeping for longer stretches during the night

Hopefully you can get some good advice from here and figure it all out. Honestly, I wish I had joined the forum sooner. I struggled through OS and OALD during the early weeks and had no idea what the heck was going on . After reading on here about it, now I understand what was happening, it all makes so much sense now.